Beyond All Illusion
by Sylvannastar
Summary: Keiko had never been naive about her relationship with the men in her life, but a sudden change causes her to take a second look from a whole new perspective...A Keiko Kurama fic.
1. Chapter 1 A Hidden Hurt

This is one of my few fan fictions out there that is not a crossover! This is a Keiko Kurama pairing so don't be surprised. I own nothing of YYH and won't ever. This story is dedicated to the author that requested I write it and for her idea that I have somehow twisted around into this fic. You should all go read her work if you haven't already! Buffybot76, this is for you even though you have already read it! I will be posting the first four chapter now, but I do not know when I will update. I hope that you enjoy it.

Sylvannastar

Beyond All Illusion

Chapter 1

A Hidden Hurt

"He's late. He's late. He's just late," Keiko chanted softly under her breath. Her dark brown eyes searched the crowded hallways for a hint of the rebellious green uniform that was one of the many things that set her boyfriend apart from the other students.

Keiko had known Yusuke Urameshi since they were both in grade school. Always a practical child, Keiko had been one of the only people in Yusuke's life to ever try to see past the tough exterior that he showed to others. Keiko had seen the Yusuke that was underneath, the mask of a bully, and knew from experience that he was good and caring on the inside.

As they grew older, Keiko had noticed her feelings for her friend were quickly turning to a crush. When Yusuke had died, the first time, she had finally admitted to herself, and to him, that she cared for him as more then a friend. Slowly, they were growing closer and becoming the couple that Keiko had always longed for. But perhaps "slowly" did not quite express the nature of their budding relationship. Yusuke spent most of his time now off in some other realm to do Reikai business. When he was home in the Ningenkai, Keiko still saw little of him because she had to go to her classes and Yusuke skipped them all. It seemed that the only time she ever got to see him anymore was when she nagged him into coming to school. Like today...

Three more minutes passed and Keiko found herself shifting from one foot to the other. She felt that familiar sinking feeling settling in her chest again. She couldn't help wondering if Yusuke had skipped out on her again. Keiko felt hurt when she realized how Yusuke always put other things in front of their relationship. She understood that he hated school, that it was not something that he really needed to do. He already had one of the most important jobs in three worlds...school really wasn't a major concern of his. But Keiko couldn't help but feel as if he were setting her aside as well. When the chance came for them to spend time together, she jumped at it. But he...he seemed to shrug her off as easily as last month's overdue math assignment.

Then, on the other hand, Keiko felt so safe and protected when Yusuke was by her side. She felt cared for and she felt happy when they shared things together. She couldn't help but yearn for that sort of closeness that she could feel hinted at when she was with him. If she held on long enough, if she gave it her all, she knew they could really have that kind of bond that would last. If only he would show up and put some effort into being with her...

Keiko shook her head to clear it of unnecessary memories and pushed the heart ache away to be dealt with if he really didn't show up again. She had to have faith that he would keep his word.

The chattering of the other students died down to a quiet hum and Keiko felt herself anticipating Yusuke Urameshi's arrival. It always got quiet when he stalked through the halls. 

She pressed herself against one wall and stood tip toe in order to crane a look around the taller students blocking her view. Feeling generally lighter and happier, Keiko smiled into the crowd and waited for the familiar scowl to be revealed as the various groups of students parted to let the figure through.

Keiko grinned in relief and brushed a strand of her dark hair from her eyes. Yusuke had keep his promise, she told herself and bounced back on her heels. The crowd separated in front of her and Keiko threw herself forward through the gap.

"Yusuke!" she shouted happily, swung around the last body blocking her way and threw herself at him. A pair of strong arms circled around her slim shoulders, just as she knew they would and Keiko sighed happily, thinking how well they fit together. She looked up, brown eyes shining, only to stop and stare when she finally focused on the startled expression on a face she knew so well...a face that did not belong to her boyfriend...

Keiko was shocked to find herself pressed against the very much sought after body of none other then Shuuichi Minamino...also known as Kurama to any aware of his true identity. Keiko was too stunned to move, much less let go of the taller boy. His pretty features were framed perfectly by long strands of crimson hair and set off his deep green eyes. The slight shock on his own face was easily replaced with a gentle smile as he greeted her in an honest, but much less enthusiastic way, than her flying tackle. "Good morning, Keiko," he said with genuine fondness.

"Uh, good morning," she answered without thought as she stared stupidly at him.

"Urameshi's girlfriend is cheating on him with Minamino-san?!" A student announced loudly, shocking Keiko from the surrealistic quality of the moment and back into reality. 

"N-nani?!" Keiko jumped and realized that she was still pressed tightly against Kurama.

The sharp voice of a girl Keiko knew to be a member of the Minamino fan club gasped dramatically as she sobbed and shoved one fist over her mouth. "Minamino-san! How could you?!"

"N-no! It's not like that!" she said and hastily stepped back away from the red head causing his arms to trail over her shoulders and down to her forearms before he released her totally from his grasp. "Really," she waved her hands frantically in front of her.

"Urameshi is going to be so pissed," one voice said in a terrified squeak.

"I hope he doesn't hurt Minamino-san!" another girl wailed.

"I bet that Minamino-san knows how to fight! He knows everything!" another voice cheered.

"No way! Urameshi would break him in half!" a short boy shivered mournfully as if he had already seen the school's smartest, and best looking student die horribly in front of him.

"Yusuke wouldn't do something like that!" Keiko frowned and pointed a finger at the whispering crowd. She opened her mouth to start an anger fueled lecture at the gawking mob when Kurama caught her hand in his. Instead of facing off with the more vehement students, she found herself shouting retorts over her shoulder while Kurama tugged her along behind him. He took her away from the now clogged hallway, until they turned another corner and she was saved from having to feel the weight of some fifty plus stares at her back. 

Kurama stopped in a deserted corner near a stair well and turned to face her, questions obvious in his vivid eyes. He waited, a strange intensity on his face that Keiko had only witnessed when he was preparing for a fight. She swallowed at the thought and offered him a weak smile which only seemed to make the intensity of his patient stare grow.

She studied her friend for a silent moment before she let her face fall into the disappointed grimace she had been struggling to contain. "I'm sorry," she bowed apologetically. "I, uh," she whispered "was looking for Yusuke..." She glanced over her shoulder but no hint of green or slicked back hair could be found. Frowning sadly, she looked back at the young man staring so intently at her. "He promised," she shrugged in explanation.

Keiko held in a wince when she saw the look of understanding that quickly turned to pity on his face and dropped her eyes to stare at the tiles on the floor. She regained her composer quickly and forced another fake smile on her face before she managed to look up at him and ask with false cheer, "Have you seen him?"

A brief flash of emotion flickered across that calm face before she could identify it. She could almost swear that he had seemed disappointed. She flinched slightly at the thought and wondered if he was annoyed with her 'nagging,' the way that Yusuke always was. Keiko stared at the lockers unhappily and clutched the strap of her bag in her fists before meeting those cool green eyes.

"He's not coming, is he?" she sighed and twisted her hands and wrung the rough cloth of her bag into a wrinkled mess. Kurama watched her sadly and she hated it when he saw her like this. Kurama had a way of being able to read her every emotion. Those vivid eyes missed nothing and Keiko was always left feeling slightly vulnerable when the intensity of those eyes was focused on her. At the same time, He had always been able to make her feel special...but then, anyone that he gave his undivided attention to probably felt the same.

"No," he answered truthfully. "He's not."

Keiko saw how he regretted having to tell her that so she waved away his next words with another false grin. "That's alright. I expected it," she said.

Another flash of emotion, this time one of anger, made Keiko seriously wonder if she was seeing things. She noticed how he searched her own face for some indication of what she really felt for several heavy heartbeats. Keiko shoved her own disappointment aside in concern when Kurama stayed uncharacteristically silent.

"Are you okay?" she stepped forward and reached out a pale hand to press against his forehead but found it caught in his instead. She stared stupidly at the captured appendage before flexing her fingers experimentally. Her hand was dropped as quickly as it had been seized. Keiko turned her startled look to Kurama.

Kurama clenched his fingers around the warm tingling of his palm where Keiko's innocent touch had sent currents of heat through his blood. He could still feel the press of her body from her unexpected embrace. For several minutes, he had been unable to speak coherently and now, here she was, like always, as far from his reach as she had ever been. That one heart stopping moment in the hall, everything had seemed so _right. _But it wasn't. It was wrong...all wrong. And he could only tempt fate so much before he would be reminded of how the greatest treasure was the one that had slipped from his grasp and into the hands of another.

She could have sworn that he was breathing a little harder then normal and he appeared more pale than he had before. Keiko made an attempt to close the distance between them again but stopped short when the red head turned away from her abruptly.

"We'll be late for class," he reminded her in a hard voice and she nodded dumbly until he began to walk away from her.

"Wait!" she jumped and pulled her hand to her chest. He had stopped, but the tense line of his shoulders and the way he still did not turn to face her was so unlike him that Keiko found herself wallowing for something to say. Anything to say...She pushed back her hair again and tampered her nervousness with a frown. "Do you...do you know when he will be back?" she heard herself asking just to end the suddenly tense silence that had fallen between them.

She noticed the way his shoulders slumped slightly before Kurama managed to gather himself. She heard a muffled breath before he answered her with an abruptness so unlike him. "No. I do not."

Kurama kept his face turned from her. His anger and his frustration grew the longer she insisted on asking about the man that had everything that he wanted. Her persistent attachment to Yusuke only made his own pain worse when she reminded him of it. She had been in his arms for one glorious moment...because she though he was Yusuke. She had returned his embrace with happiness...because she had thought that he was Yusuke. She was only here now talking to him...because she couldn't find Yusuke. Had he been able to keep that moment unsoiled, been able to keep that picture of them without being reminded that she was another's, he might have had better control over his now raging emotions. He might have been able to turn and face her. But not with her asking about him. Not now.

"Kurama, I-I'm sorry, for running into you like that..." she hesitated, thinking that perhaps she should have made her apology before this and winced.

"Next time I would suggest you refrain from throwing yourself on others." He called over his shoulder. "It is no wonder that Yusuke is always having to protect and save you. You show no caution for yourself and wind up bringing more trouble when it is the last thing that we need here. Try not to be such a liability..."

Keiko watched him begin to stalk away silently and twisted the strange encounter about in her mind to find out how and why she had offended him. His words hurt her deeply and she bit her lip hard to keep from crying out. Kurama, the one friend she had that she could always count on to be there for her was now walking away from her.

What perhaps hurt the worst was the way that every word that he said was true. She was a liability to him...to all of them. She was weak and caused trouble when they already had enough to worry about. She was annoying and nagging and she now knew that it did bother Kurama when she hung on him like she had been doing every time Yusuke abandoned her time and time again.

A hard knot formed in her throat cutting off her breath for a moment until she could swallow her tears. A matching pain in her chest squeezed around her heart as she watched the sway of crimson hair vanish around the corner. She didn't stop to think about why his words would be so devastating. She didn't even consider why his rejection hurt so much more than Yusuke's repeated failures. If she had, then perhaps her eyes would have been open to the truth that was right in front of her.


	2. Chapter 2 A Weakness

Beyond All Illusion

Chapter 2

A Weakness

"Yusuke, you fool," Kurama muttered to himself. He had silently watched as Keiko raced from the cafeteria to her next class. He could see the effect of his callous words on the girl and cursed both Yusuke and himself for being the ones to hurt her. She had done nothing purposely to cause him to snap like that, but the stress of having her so close, and today, having her in his arms for even so brief a moment had made him say things to her that he should not have said. He had not meant them, but judging by the drawn and pained look on her face, he could tell that he had caused more damage to her fragile spirit then he would have thought possible.

He knew that Keiko had always been closer to him then to any of the others with the exception of Yusuke himself, but he had never really considered what that position in her life might mean to _her_. For him, it meant that he was given the opportunity to be in her company. It meant that he could be there to sooth her suffering when Yusuke once again proved insensitive to her affections for him. And it meant that he could protect her from the things in this world, and several others, that could and would hurt her if given the chance.

Now, he was the one causing that despairing expression to settle on her face. He was the one causing her to hurt. And she had trusted him with everything. This is what he did with that friendship...that trust.

"Kurama," he said to himself, "you are an even bigger fool..." he told himself and turned his own thought inside. He had the urge to leave and find a quiet corner of the world still untainted by modern men and their technology and think this through.

There were some issues here that would have to be brought up between him and the girl he watched with such care. There was a few deep subjects that he would have to address with her. Like Yusuke...or more appropriately, their relationship, or lack there of. Depending on her answer and her feelings concerned there, then perhaps he would find the courage to move to more personal topics. First, first he had to think the problem through and consider all the consequences and repercussions involved for both of them once he came out and said what he had been longing to say for so long now...Kurama had to face his own fears of her rejection, and Yusuke's anger, before he could face her.

She normally never walked this way alone. Usually she was accompanied by Kurama or Yusuke, when the latter actually showed up for school. The path way was twisted, passing several of the less reputable parts of town, a few secluded nooks where the more questionable members of society would hang about. But, when faced with the late hour, she had chosen the shorter route over the safer. She wanted to be home, and this was the quickest way there.

She had gone through the day distracted and crushed by Kurama's cold words and attitude. She felt the need to apologize again, but had not seen him. She waited beside the back gate of the school where they usually met and walked home together, but he never showed. Keiko had flinched unhappily as the time had slowly spun past and he never came to meet her...just like Yusuke. But as soon as that though came, she felt guilty. Kurama had never treated her with half the disregard as Yusuke managed to show. He had been the friend she could count on when all others failed her. She knew that Yusuke didn't realize that her friends were distant, if that, simply because of her association with him. The few she had, that would chance befriending her, spent half of their time checking over their shoulders in case her infamous boyfriend made a quick and unexpected appearance.

Kurama hadn't been like that. He had always treated her with respect and care. In the beginning she had a few reservations about Kurama's motives in becoming her friend. First she thought that perhaps Yusuke had simply put him up to watching over her. Then she wondered if it was pity with the way he seemed to notice how she sat and ate alone. Now she could only conclude that he had only been doing Yusuke a favor and the idea hurt.

She forced herself to accept the fact the Kurama was only helping his friend...helping Yusuke by keeping her out of trouble. And she knew that when he mentioned her ability to attract trouble, he was not lying. So she knew that she had reason to thank him...but she would not force her company on him more than that. And she was determined to tell him that too...if only he had shown up.

Walking these particular streets without one of her usual protectors was making her paranoid. Every sound, every movement, had her heart thumping in her chest. She made it halfway home before she heard something behind her.

Keiko silently cursed her hasty decision to come this way and quickened her pace so that she was striding along, seeming much more confident than she actually felt. It was ironic that she never spared a single thought to her safety when Kurama or Yusuke walked with her. Even when the occasional band of bullies challenged their right to pass, she never so much as blinked. It was not uncommon for her to sigh and demand that they hurry it up so that she could get back.

Now, here she was, practically sprinting for home because of the pattering of feet behind her. Keiko scowled at her own cowardice and suddenly whirled on her heel to confront her stalker. "Hey, you!" she shouted angrily and pointed a finger in accusation. "Quit following...me?" Keiko searched her surroundings carefully but there was nothing there for her to worry about. Actually there was no one around at all..a frightening enough observation on its own.

"Great, now I'm hearing things," she said to herself. Completely spooked now, Keiko turned around and slowly walked on. She made her steps as silent as she could, her concern for her safety not fading as quickly as she would have liked. After a few tense moments, she was able to make out the odd pattern of steps beginning anew. She had to forcefully calm her racing heart to hear over its insistent drumming.

The noise finally came close enough for her to distinguish the unmistakable clicking of claws hitting pavement. Keiko slowed her steps more so that she could focus on the faint tapping that echoed on the concrete behind her. As she shuffled her feet, she laughed in light hearted relief and slumped her tensed muscles. She looked over her shoulder, expecting the hungry hopeful eyes of some stray dog to be begging her for a scrap she did not have.

A flash of muted brown, low to the ground confirmed her suspicion that her stalker was of the four legged variety. Keiko breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to her previous path towards home.

However, the animal had apparently not given up and had gotten closer. The rasp of its panting was now audible to her human ears and Keiko smiled to herself. If the poor thing actually went to the effort to follow her all the way home, she would find it something to eat and drink. Keiko made it to the part of the trail that cut through the park and she obediently turned her feet onto its secluded paths.

She heard the rustling that assured her that the creature was right on her heels. She was afraid that looking back would scare it away, so she stared straight ahead. Its persistence made her giggle softly and she decided to allow it time to get used to her voice. "Are you coming with me?" she asked the presence softly.

She was surprised to hear it stop pacing behind her for a moment, but was delighted when she heard it bound toward her again. That is, until a restricting hand cuffed her wrist and pulled her to a halt at the same time a hot breath fluttered across her cheek. An unfamiliar voice casually informed her, "No, _you _are coming with _me._"

Yusuke stretched his muscles and yawned openly without bothering to cover for his fatigue. He had come home in the early morning hours after taking a last minute case for Koenma and had slept the day away. A glance at the clock informed him that school had let out an hour ago and he had once again managed to miss it. A momentary thought of Keiko and how pissed she would be that he ditched school again was shrugged away as he made his way to the kitchen. There was a lot that he did that he knew worried her, but he also knew that in her heart, she understood how important this job was to him...how important the work was...how important it was for him to be needed for something.

Another lengthy stretch and Yusuke finally felt awake enough to go make his usual rounds of the neighborhood. Just because he was gone most of the time didn't meant that he neglected his reputation here in the human world. There was always some bully to beat up, or some innocent to save. Yusuke smiled, quite content with his life after so many years of coming from nothing and going nowhere. Now he had a purpose as a Spirit Detective and he had a few true friends and a girl friend that understood him.

He thought about making a call to her house but pushed the thought away quickly. Since he had managed to miss school today, he knew that he was in for an earful when she did get her hands on him. She liked to lecture and rant and he usually ended up running from the temper that she insisted that she didn't have. It was either that or resist the urge to throw her in a closet somewhere gagged and trussed up until her nagging was done.

He followed the crooked line of the sidewalk for several blocks before he made it to the park that was situated nearest to his home. A faint trace of youki made him pause in his steps and stare unseeing at the wooded area before he shrugged it off and determined that Koenma would call him if there was a problem to take care of. It obviously wasn't an important concern since he had yet to hear from Botan about a new demon escape.

Yusuke ignored the taint of energy and moved on. Surely there was some trouble brewing somewhere that he could take part in...

Keiko remembered too late that not everything with claws was an innocent creature born of her own world. And this one, this one had claws and fangs and two stringy tails that were definitely _not _a common trait to the average human. Her attempt to scream was cut off by the rough handling of those clawed hands, one over her mouth and the other gripping her throat hard.

Twin trails of her salty tears escaped from the corners of her eyes as she worked desperately to breath. The animal-like snout of the demon grinning his victory at her was twisted by several scars that ran from the middle of his forehead to his chin. It looked like something with even bigger and sharper claws had slashed the muzzled demon and it had never healed correctly. The twisted scars curled the demon's lips up in a permanent snarl and lay pink and bare of the dirty fur that covered the rest of its body.

"Stupid humans," he sniggered at her pathetic attempts to gain her freedom. "I never would have expected this to be so easy. The Spirit Detective will pay...oh, yes! He will pay for his mistakes, with you. He was a fool to leave his greatest weakness unattended. Now, you are mine...Keiko..."

Keiko struggled harder until the blurring at the edges of her vision made her head spin. She bit at the hand cupped over her mouth but only succeeded in biting her own tongue when he jerked her head back. Her eyes widened further when a sadistic chuckle hissed through those fangs.

"Now," he said, "What to do to you? What would break that detective the way he tried to break me?" He grinned into her terrified face as some amusing idea gave him pause. "I know just the thing," he smirked and dragged her deeper into the forest. "Something that will make him think of me everyday for the rest of his life..."

Keiko's panic rose the further from the path she was taken until nothing familiar surrounded her and there was no chance of her being heard by a casual passer-by. Keiko had only a single moment of clarity before her world went black.


	3. Chapter 3 Keiko's Loss

Beyond All Illusion

Chapter 3

Keiko's Loss

Kurama rubbed a hand over his face and stared into the bathroom mirror. He scowled unhappily at the dirt and dust that had settled in a film over his usually pristine features. He had spent the night walking through a familiar part of the demon realm. It was his old territory...the paths and secret places of a famous fox spirit. Littered with memories and past dreams, Kurama had gone searching through his old stashes and hoards of stolen items to find a specific gem. The one jewel that he had not taken forcibly from another. It had been his mothers, and was his one honest possession.

It had taken him all night and most of this morning to remember where his had hidden it. It was small, far smaller than the priceless items and magic artifacts that he had managed to thieve for over four hundred years. In fact, when compared to some of the jewels and pieces that he had managed to collect, it was unremarkable. But it held a significance to him that none other did. It was honest. It was pure and untainted by his past. It was as the only treasure that he had that would be worth giving to her...no matter what her response was to what he was going to say to her.

He glanced through the door to see the glowing red numbers of his alarm clock and noticed that school would be out in about half an hour. He had not seen Keiko since lunch time yesterday and cursed at himself for taking so long to find that single stone. He had wanted to see her as soon as possible so that he could apologize for his rudeness and brash words that day before. He had felt the weight of guilt and remorse settle on his shoulders moments after his outburst that morning, but had not had the courage to face her until he had straightened out all the issues he needed to speak to her about, in his own mind.

As time had passed, that weight had grown heavier as well as the strange feeling he was getting that warned him of trouble to come. But he brushed this aside as a side effect to the fear that she would reject him completely and that he would not only lose any chance of a future with her, but also the friendship they shared. Though it was an honest concern, he couldn't hide what he felt forever and this had to be faced.

He felt disgusted with himself when he remembered that for the first time in a long while, he had left Keiko on her own without warning her that he would be leaving. He wondered if she had waited for him to walk with her to school this morning and if she had felt his absence as much as he felt hers.

He had time for a quick shower before he would meet her at the school gate to walk her home at least. That way, they could talk, uninterrupted and she would have an escort to protect her from the many dangers that threatened them.

Keiko woke up abruptly and completely. She had spent the entire night in terror of what her captor had planned for her before finally falling into an exhausted sleep only a few hours after sunrise. She clenched her teeth over the dirty gag shoved into her mouth and worked her numb fingers where the ropes had cut her circulation down. She glanced around, trying to find a sign of the creature that had kidnaped her the evening before and saw that he was still missing. She was beginning to think that he had tied her up only to abandon her.

Keiko took a more thorough survey of her surroundings and discovered two things. She was still in the park...and there was no one here to save her. Keiko felt the burning tears in her eyes and let her spirits drop. She should have known better than to take that path home. She should have been more cautious. Kurama was right. She was more of a liability to them than a help. And it hurt just as much, inside, to finally realize that, as it physically hurt to move.

The demon had not been gentle with her. Of course, she had not exactly come willingly either. It had been a struggle the whole way and Keiko had done everything in her power to distract, throw off, and piss off the filthy creature as he had dragged her through the woods. He had finally dropped her here, in this deserted clearing. He had sneered at her as he had tightened her bonds and laughed about his "plans" for her before disappearing. And here she remained...almost a full twenty four hours later if the sun shining in her eyes through the tree trunks was anything to go by.

The cracking and snapping of brush made Keiko flinch from the unexpected sound. It sounded as if something were crashing through the brambles with all the grace of a landlocked hippo. Praying it was a rescue, Keiko stared hopefully toward the trees where the noise was coming from.

She only widened them in disbelief when her despised captor made his glorious return. She growled at him through the gag and glared at his knees when he knelt at her side to snigger at her helplessness.

"I found what I was looking for," he informed her cheerfully. "Do you want to see?"

Keiko snarled a muffled "NO!" through the constricting cloth. But he just grabbed her shoulders and sat her up roughly against a convenient tree as if her protest had meant nothing...which it had.

Keiko glared at the creature that had identified itself as a fox demon to her last night. She would never have believed it to look at him. He was nothing like Kurama, or the ethrical beauty of his Youko form. This creature was the exact opposite of the spirit fox that she knew. The muddy colored fur, the ugly half animal features, the stringy tails that hung limply from his back, the amazing lack of grace and stealth, and the dark eyes with a dark mask of tatty fur around them was nothing like the glowing features she would give anything to see right now. 

Once he had her seated to his own satisfaction, he had proudly lined up a sting of plants and herbs in the dirt. She glanced at the dying vegetation and narrowed her eyes at the implications of them. They were nothing special to her. She couldn't even identify one of the leafy green things he seemed so gleeful over. By their bedraggled condition, she assumed that he had little of the growing power that Kurama had and she gave a silent laugh on her part for that observation.

The fox demon scratched his claws through the dirt in silent contemplation. " It took me all evening to find these all. Most don't grow here in this realm as well as they do in the Makia."

Keiko stared at him while he let his arms dangle across his knees. She waited until he looked up and met her eyes before she rolled them in response to his explanation. It was one of the only gestures left to her that he had not restricted and it was one that he would at least be able to comprehend.

She was unprepared to see the grin on his muzzled face while he let out a satisfied snort. "What took me so long to get was this," he casually went on and reached behind his back. He pulled a struggling and thrashing animal in front of him and jerked his hands away from the snapping jaws of the wild animal.

Keiko stared with widened eyes into the fear crazed gaze of a wild fox as it struggled tiredly against the strip of cloth tied around three of its four legs. It flopped about until exhausted again where it remained panting in the dirt, its breaths blowing up tiny gusts of dust while it lay. Keiko saw that it had a light fur that was almost a creamy tan while its underbelly and muzzle were white. Its four paws were dark chocolate brown, leading to black toes and claws. Its tail was white tipped like most foxes and resembled the bushy silky fur that she associated with the only other fox of her acquaintance. This wild animal was more like to the man she knew then the demon fox that had snared it.

Keiko shot her eyes back up to the gloating demon and glared at him for doing such a heartless thing to an innocent creature.

"It is difficult to catch a fox," he laughed. "I had to chase her all day. Foxes are very smart," he preened as if this observation included him. He prodded at the still animal and sent it into another frenzy of effort to free itself. "Do you like her?" he asked knowing that Keiko couldn't answer him. "I hope you do because you are going to be getting very well acquainted very soon.

Keiko wasn't certain what he meant, but it did not sound good for either of them. She felt the beginning stirring of fear settle in her gut again. Why hadn't anyone come for her yet? Surely someone had realized that she was missing by now. Why wasn't Yusuke here to save her? He had always known when she needed him in the past. Why didn't the spirit detectives hunt down this demon? Surely Koenma knew that he had escaped the barrier. Keiko didn't have any answers, and she began to fear that when they did come, which she had faith that they would, it would be too late. 

"This," the fox demon said and grabbed her chin with one hand to force her to look at the herb he was clutching in the other clawed fist, "is one ingredient to a very interesting potion. You see, certain types of foxes have different abilities," he went on when Keiko glared at him. "My specialty is in potion making...of the transformation variety." he grinned that toothy smile at her again before holding another plant under her nose. "Do you understand?"

Keiko noticed that he was waiting for her to answer him so she refused to give him the satisfaction. Instead, Keiko closed her eyes and ignored the painful tightening on her chin. She couldn't ignore the stinging pain of the slap he gave her and her eyes shot open when she felt the abrupt contact of his hand on her cheek. She cringed slightly when the wet trickle of blood informed her that he had not held back those lethal claws when he had struck her. She turned her face to him again when he spoke again.

"This is important Keiko," He said. He deliberately used her name to see her glare daggers at him again. "You see," he said with a casual shrug, "it is your mate that stole mine from me. Now, I get to return the favor."

Keiko blinked in confusion. _Her mate? _ She thought and puzzled it out. Yusuke had taken this demon's mate and now he was getting his revenge by using her against Yusuke?! Keiko snorted at that. There were several things wrong with that idea she would have loved to point out if she had been able to talk. First of all, Yusuke wasn't her 'mate', as the demon put it, not yet anyway. Second, she had been down this 'get revenge on Yusuke' road before and it had yet to prove successful. Third, she had known everything when she had walked into her relationship with the spirit detective and had told him long ago that should anything happen to her, it would not be his fault. She was there of her own free will and knew the consequences that her proximity with the tentai could bring trouble her way. Fourth, she had faith that Yusuke would come for her. He had never failed her in the past, and she knew that he cared enough for her to do his best to make sure that no harm came to her.

The demon fox tilted his twisted face to the side at an angle that appeared almost painful as he regarded her defiant expression. "This will hurt," he told her. "But I will have my revenge. I could just kill you...but this will make his suffering last so much longer..." He glanced around himself and pulled a few tools from random hiding places. He situated himself back in front of his two captives and grasped a large bowl in his clawed hands and placed it between his knees to keep it from moving. "The first ingredient..." he told the human as he reached for the prone fox resting once again in the dirt.

Keiko watched in horror as he lifted the struggling and shrieking animal up by its tail, avoiding the sharp teeth nipping at his fingers. A final yip marked the slashing of the wild fox's throat, but not the end of its fruitless struggles. Keiko felt tears well up in her eyes as the poor creature thrashed for a few more moments before dangling over the bowl that was catching the steady dripping stream of fresh blood.

When the last few pattering of crimson drops slowed, the demon discarded the corpse with a fling of his hand. Keiko watched the limp body hit the ground with a thud and felt her own heart squeezing in sympathy for the innocent creature. She saw the monster reach out a clawed hand to her face and she automatically balked from his touch. The tree at her back stopped her from flinching further and she felt the rough pads of his fingers stroke upward on her cheek.

Keiko stared at him when he pulled away and grinned at her with that twisted smirk again. "The second ingredient..." he told her and held up that clawed hand that now sparkled with her tears on the tips. Keiko ground her teeth into that gag again when she saw him shake those lone drops into the warm pool of blood.

He silently prepared plants that he had, each one glowing eerily with his youki before he added it to the bowl. When he had all the greenery mixed to his liking, he licked his fingers slowly and savored the taste of blood and magic on his claws. "Now the most important part," he grunted and held the bowl up to the light.

Keiko watched in disgust while her captor calmly poured his demon energy into the mixture and scoffed at his boasting about being a powerful fox demon. The weak trickle of his powers was nothing compared to what she had seen others do. Stronger demons than him had attempted to get the best of Yusuke and failed. This attempt would be no different.

He put the bowl in one hand and reached out to snap her gag off with his claws. Keiko snarled as soon as the dirty cloth fell from her mouth and opened her mouth to yell at the disgusting creature and his evil potion.

Before she could even inhale the big breath to begin her tirade, she felt the rough wooden texture of the bowl at her lips and heard the softly spoken command. "Drink...while its still warm."

Keiko pinched her numb lips together and refused only to feel her nose being pinched between strong fingers and her breath was cut off... Keiko panicked when her air began to run out and she found her eyes landing on the dead body of the fox when her strength finally failed and her lips parted. Keiko only got one panted breath in before the taste of blood overpowered all of her other senses and sent her lurching toward unconsciousness.

Keiko's last sight was of the triumphant grinning demon fox before the first wave of pain consumed her and she went under...


	4. Chapter 4 The Worst Pain

Beyond All Illusion

Chapter 4

The Worst Pain

Yusuke rubbed at a split in his upper lip with satisfaction and stood with his arms folded over the hunched figures of several lower-class slime that had been stinking up his turf. Not one of the figures moved and Yusuke shook his head at the unconscious boys. "Shoulda known better then to come 'round here," he muttered at them before turning on his heel and stalking away.

"One of them actually managed to hit you this time," a low, dangerous voice said to the cocky detective.

"Only 'cause I let him," Yusuke told the short demon that appeared at his side.

Hiei didn't bother with a reply and simply got to the point. "Koenma has been trying to call you. Turn on your communicator."

Yusuke dropped his hands to his sides and patted his pockets for the compact device that he used to keep in touch with Reikai's central office. He finally discovered it in his back pocket and flipped it open. After several failed attempts to find an on button, he shook it hard. "I didn't even know that you could turn this thing on and off," he swore. "Where's the switch?"

Hiei gave the detective a disbelieving look before pressing his lips together in exasperation. "Your reiki is the switch." he informed the oblivious detective.

"Oh," Yusuke said and gave the impassive fire apparition a victory sign before getting the screen to light up.

The screen blinked to life and Yusuke ended up staring at a miniature picture of his boss, complete with pacifier ring and twitching eyebrow to signal his annoyance. "Yo," he greeted the irrate spirit ruler. "What do you need?"

"I'm not even going to ask," the toddler sized ruler said and shook his head before getting down to business. "I've got a job for you."

"Figures. What is it this time?" Yusuke grumbled and followed Hiei down the walk. "And how many of us will it take this time?"

"Well," the image replied hesitantly, "you and at least Kurama. A demon has escaped and it is a fox demon. We are not sure what his purpose is, but it can't be good. Kurama will know what to watch out for since it is of his own kind," Koenma shrugged.

"Mmm," Yusuke grunted and glanced around the abandoned alley way they had stopped in. "Do you know where Kurama is?"

"School," came Koenma's dry reply.

"Oh yeah," Yusuke grinned. "I forgot about that."

"You would," Koenma sighed and waved his hand in a dismissive motion. "You know what to do. Just let me know when you are finished and I will get the paperwork finished on it."

"Got it," Yusuke affirmed and snapped the communicator shut. "Wanna tag along?" he asked the shadow that peeled itself from the wall and revealed Hiei's bored face.

"Whatever," the jaganashi answered and took his place beside the spirit detective.

"Well, lets go find Kurama," he said and braced his hands behind his head as he stepped back out onto the street. "He shouldn't be far."

"He's not." Hiei answered and disappeared only to reappear across the street on the roof of a building.

Yusuke grinned and strolled in his own good time through the slow moving traffic and almost immediately spotted a flash of red conveniently heading right for him. He watched with amusement while Kurama kept a preoccupied gaze fixed on the pavement and his hands in his pockets. Yusuke held an arm out to bar the fox from going farther and effectively stopped his progress.

"It's not like you to be so unobservant," Hiei called down from his perch.

Kurama obediently glared up at the other demon and then sighed before meeting Yusuke's brown eyes. "I knew you were there," he told them. "But I also knew that you would stop me if you needed me."

"Well, we need you," Yusuke shrugged. "Koenma told us we got a runaway. A fox this time."

"Only one?" Kurama raised a brow and looked skeptically at the other two. "Is it really necessary to send all of us?"

"Nah," Yusuke replied. "Hiei's just tagging along for fun."

Kurama narrowed his green eyes in silent contemplation. He really needed to talk to Keiko as soon as he could, but he was also aware that he was very nervous about approaching her with this. He hesitated to ask but found the words slipping from his mouth anyway, "What about Keiko?"

Yusuke rubbed the back of his head and laughed shortly. "Well, I didn't bother telling her I had another case. It's not like this will take too long or anything. Besides, she's going to be pissed at me for missing school again anyway. I'll deal with that later."

Kurama calmed his anger at the other detective and reminded himself that it was just Yusuke's nature to take the girl for granted. He nodded once in agreement with the mission and whispered in his mind that it was for the best to let Keiko calm down before approaching her today. Yusuke's absences always aggravated her in ways that nothing else could...perhaps tomorrow he would get his chance to speak with her.

Keiko winced when she managed to regain control of her muscles enough to open her eyes. She had managed to remain unconscious for the majority of the transformation, but had been shocked into wakefulness when the pain had become too intense to ignore. Her insides were still quivering from the waves of pain that had accompanied the rearranging of her organs and flesh to inhabit her new form. She didn't think that anything could hurt this badly. It was the worst pain.

She panted into the same dust that her fellow captive had before her death, in a body, identical to the last hair, that still lay unattended mere feet from her. Keiko twitched, her muscles still contracting with each spasm. She knew that her disorientation would fade and the pain would diminish, but she found that there were other concerns that tortured her mind at the moment.

Keiko was reduced to an animal. Her hands were delicate dark furred paws, her nose long and slender. She felt the foreign movement of a tail that she was certain graced her slim figure and she could feel the sharp mouthful of teeth with her tongue. Keiko wanted to curl up and cry, but she had yet to figure out how to get her new body to move correctly.

"Like a newborn kit," the demon fox laughed at her and scooped her up into his arms. "Keiko, now you will see..." he told her and stroked her newly pointed ears.

Keiko had never been more terrified in her life. She whimpered in her captor's grasp and failed to regain control enough to even struggle in his arms. He was gentle in his hold of her and tucked her into the crook of one elbow as he slunk from the clearing. She didn't know where he was taking her now, nor did she care. All she could hope for now was a quick rescue and a fast cure.

"Yusuke!" she cried out and was horrified by the garbled bark that emitted from her throat. Her eyes fell on the fox corpse one last time as they left the clearing. "Help..." she whispered into another bark before she gave into her pain and whimpered in soft pants while she was once again stolen away from anything familiar...

Hiei was quick to point them in the right direction. Kurama and Yusuke never once questioned the fire apparition's choice of direction and sedately walked to a familiar park very close by.

Kurama frowned and searched the available scenery for any hint of anything out of place. "Why here?" he whispered to himself in concern, recognizing it as the same park that he and Keiko walked through on a regular basis.

"Don't worry about it," Yusuke assured him. "This just means that we can get this done faster and get on with our lives."

Kurama scanned the park again and finally focused on the task at hand and picked up the demon's trail with ease. He motioned for the other two to follow him as he took the lead and began to spy out the way the creature moved and what his habits were by analyzing the clear trail that it had left through the wooded areas, bereft of paths.

He stumbled across a curious plant, shriveled and broken that did not belong in the human realm and was quick to use his youki to sap all signs of life from the specimen. If that thing had been able to recover and grow here, it could have endangered any living thing that went past it.

Kurama became increasingly more disgusted as they went and it showed. Hiei was careful to observe the spirit fox's frustration and commented with a soft "hn," when their eyes met.

"Never has there been a fox so clumsy!" he spat out at the obvious trail. "It can not be accidental. He wants us to follow him."

"You mean that this demon is inviting us in?" Yusuke grinned. "Ha!"

"It means that he already has plans made for our arrival," Kurama corrected the spirit detective. "There has to be some sort of trap in all this...but I have yet to find it."

They all turned when the sounds of crashing through the underbrush alerted them to an intruder. Yusuke and Kurama got into defensive stances until their opponent was revealed, while Hiei jumped into the high branches of a tree to watch the upcoming battle with interest.

A ragged and ugly demon with features that where neither man nor beast but somewhere in between emerged from the tangle of foliage. He caught sight of them almost immediately and sniffed the air with his twisted snout. "It took you long enough to find me," he said in a clear voice so that they could hear him without straining. "I was beginning to wonder if you were even coming."

"We just weren't in any hurry to waste our time with such a weakling," Yusuke announced and crossed his arms over his chest. "Besides, we're here now," he pointed out.

"And you are already too late, aren't they my pet?" the demon laughed and stepped further into the evening light from where he had been standing in the shadows of the trees. He was clutching a shivering fox in his arms and stroking it with his clawed fingers while it looked at them with fear in its liquid eyes.

Kurama frowned at the fox demon and its wild captive and demanded for all of them, "Too late for what?"

The demon grinned its twisted grin at them and just continued to stand there and rub the pinned back ears of the shuddering vixen in his arms. Kurama felt a moment of pity for the creature before he turned his full attention to their current problem. He narrowed his vivid green eyes at the other fox and tried to determine its purpose here in the human world.

It finally spoke again, but directed its attention solely to Yusuke. "You don't remember me, do you?" he asked the detective.

Yusuke wrinkled his nose in thought and then shrugged. "Nope. Should I?"

Keiko frantically tried to catch Yusuke's eye and plead with him to save her, but he was ignoring her presence totally. Kurama was the only on that had even acknowledged that she was there...but she did not believe that he even recognized her. She whimpered when the demon's grip on her tightened in anger and she managed to flail her legs about for one uncoordinated minute before he loosened his grasp and pointed one claw at her boyfriend.

"You murderer!" he yelled and pointed at the long disfiguring scars on his face. "Don't you remember this? You should since you are the one that put them there!" he hissed. "The night you killed my mate! I vowed I would get my revenge on you..."

"Revenge?" Yusuke asked in a bored manner. "I've never killed anyone or anything that didn't deserve it." 

The demon swelled in fury and Keiko yipped loudly at the pressure he was exerting on her ribs. She felt her breathing become constricted and fear made her work harder at freeing herself and she managed to paddle her legs uselessly in midair. The tight grasp faltered when he seemed to remember something and he became instantly calm.

"I have already gotten my revenge," he said, going back to grinning at them and stroking the animal in his grasp. "The worst pain you could feel, detective. Pain that will match my own."

"What is he talking about, Yusuke?" Kurama asked quietly while he warily watched the other fox demon for any sign of deceit.

Yusuke looked confused and rubbed thoughtfully at his split lip. "Don't know," the spirit detective finally replied. "As far as I know he is just talking to hear himself blow hot air."

The other fox laughed outright and taunted Yusuke. "I have taken the most important thing you have and you will never find it. It could be right in front of you because you will never recognize it! It will be lost to you forever..."

Yusuke briefly tried to determine what that might be and came up empty. "You couldn't have taken anything too important or I would have already known that it was missing," he said and dismissed the fox's claims. With that said, he pointed his own finger at the frowning fox and allowed his energy to flow till his hand glowed blue. "You're just another idiot bent on self destruction. If you're so ready to join your mate, then just hold still." Yusuke announced and met the demon's suddenly terrified eyes.

The demon stared down onto the struggling form of his captive and whispered to himself, "...Keiko?", _I couldn't have grabbed the wrong one, could I_? he thought. This was the great Spirit Detective's mate, was it not? For once, he found he had doubts and the pleading terror in those soft eyes looking up at him made him flinch in response. He snapped his head back up when he heard the softly spoken words then sent terror into the hearts of most demons.

Keiko panicked even more. Not only was Yusuke not aware of her plight, he was going to shoot at her too. Keiko was going to die at the hands of her own boyfriend if she couldn't get free NOW!

"Spirit gun..."

Keiko felt herself being launched into the air and flipping head over tail as a blinding flash of light streaked past her. She cried out sharply when the energy sizzled into her side and burned the soft pads of her front paws and singed her fur right off of her battered body. That pain was quickly cancelled out by the immediate impact of the tree that caught her wild flight. 

Kurama saw the demon throw the vixen through the air as he sped off the other way. He winced in sympathy when he heard a loud crack and a thud as the creature hit a tree but was engaged in a tug of war over the local flora to be too concerned with the plight of one wild animal. Right now, he was attempting to tame the vegetation that was intent on capturing Yusuke while he tried to give chase to the fleeing demon fox. Yusuke cursed at the vines curled around his ankles and turned to Kurama with a fierce frown.

"Why the hell didn't you stop these damn things?!" he demanded of his team mate.

"I stopped them from growing big enough to crush you," Kurama pointed out calmly. "There was no time to destroy them without taking you down too. I simply stunted their growth."

Yusuke kicked at the offending vines still waving unhappily from the ground until they disappeared in a shriveled mess of dead brown stems and leaves. "Lets go after him!" Yusuke said jumping up.

"He's already gone," Hiei said from his perch. "He got through a portal to the demon realm."

"Why didn't you go after him, Hiei?!" Yusuke pouted unhappily as he flexed his shoulders to work out the kinks.

"It was not worth my time," the fire apparition replied and left in a blur.

"Keh," Yusuke muttered and followed Kurama to the base of tree where a pile of fur was struggling to breath. "Damn," he said looking down on the broken fox. "He sure managed to do some damage to it," he commented.

"Her," Kurama said and gently ran his hands under the unconscious fox's nose to let her smell his scent before even attempting to touch her. "It's a vixen, a young one," he said and began to take stock of the small creature's injuries before attempting to help.

"Can I help?" Yusuke asked when the fox began to whine in pain when Kurama moved her front legs.

Kurama looked around and noticed the dying light as the sun set and the extensive wounds covering the young fox at his feet. "Give me your jacket. We'll make a sling for her."

Yusuke shrugged out of his jacket and helped Kurama shift her to the tough denim material. Yusuke didn't know how bad the wild animal was hurt, but he was sure that Kurama would know what to do to help her. He hated to see things suffering and it was easy to see that part of her wounds came from his attack on the demon. Feeling guilty, Yusuke gently followed Kurama's orders and helped him transfer the wild fox to his home several blocks away. If anyone could help it to recover, it would be Kurama...


End file.
